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Marques sports car


bluerat

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I just dragged out an old 'Sports Driver' magazine from 1992, and it has a test on the top 5 Marques sorts cars in Vic, with the best being Neil Cartledges 240Z. I was wondering if anybody knows anything about this car, is it still about and racing? The thing was a weapon by the sounds of it doing a 1min 48.2 second lap around Phillip Island in 1991 and fitted with a Motec injected L28, option 1 and R200. The engine produced 300bhp and 245 ft lbs of torque and weighed 980kg. They also tested a 339hp 911 which did a 12.3 sec quarter, the timing gear then broke, and they lined it up with the Zed, who then flogged it by 3 car lengths!! The engine was built by Stan Holmes. It looks like a very interesting car, and it reminded me of ZR240's red zed which is in the 'for sale' section. Sorry about the poor photos.

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My L28 triple weber racecar did a 1:47 around the Island :)

 

But yes its owned by Tom Cantwell now and has a gnose fitted. I think he has it in storage somewere as you need to do 1:39's to be competative in Marquesports nowdays

 

It inspired me to by my first race zed when I saw it racing in the late 90's. Its a great car!

 

Ash

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Sounds like a weapon!! I tried to look up some Phillip Island results fom the late 80's ealy 90's in my 'Australian Motor racing Yearbooks' just to compare the times with other classes running at the time, and It's never mentioned, I asume it was only used for State and Club level events back then?? It's a shame that's it's locked up in the shed, Maybe they should start a 'Historic' Marques sports just to drag some of these things out?? The article on the car doesn't mention much about the suspension and brakes, are the rules very free in his area?? Is Stan Holmes still building engines? or long ago retired..

 

So many questions! ZR240 you must of had yours well sorted!!

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Yer it was only ever run at state level from what i heard.

 

Could you scan the full articale in and post as I would love to read it.

 

The problem with Historics is most of these cars were log booked in the early 90s and historic I think only streches to the early 80s

 

Be good if they made a hisotic class like the sc were you can build a car to the class instead of having a logbook from back then!!

 

My car could have been better (second had slicks, old shocks, home build engine, std 240 gear ratios) but I rekon with a better driver(or more practice) and new tyres it could have got down to the 45s :)

 

Ash

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Stan Holmes is still around; retired but does the occasional "rebuild" on gearboxes mainly for rally guys with WRX boxes that frequently blow. I've had a couple of gearbox's done by him and they are always perfect. His just hard to get a hold of sometimes.

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I'll scan the article up. So whats the gun car in Marques sports?? Porsche, can clubmans run?

 

If the current owner is after another Option 1, PM me and I'll give you the number of a guy down here with a couple that may be for sale. I would find it hard to have something like that sitting idle!!

 

As for a good historic class, it a shame they dont make Sc alot more like Nc, with period engine freedoms? mind you the guy with the white zed from SA has Sc pretty well sorted! I saw him at Mallala Easter historic meeting a few years ago, very impressive.

 

Anyway what other Quick N/A race zeds are out there?? It's always great to hear about them! I personally a fan of Jon Siddons 240Z....

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The gun Maquesports car is a lambo or a dodge viper. even the austin martin runs somtimes.

 

ITs more like FIA GT now.

 

Yer I would love if they did a sportscar class with NC style rules. I definatly know of at least ten cars that are already built to run a class like that.

 

Ash

 

 

 

 

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Another zed I found in my collection; Chris Mulldoon's quick 240Z. Last time it was at the Sandown historics, they had him running with the sports sedans..Did a great job keeping up with those monsters! And another pic of what you need now to be competitive in any class...

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Lambo......that rules out the Mk2 Sprite my mate just offered me LoL!! only joking I wouldn't dare. dont get me started on MG owners!!

 

So whats the story on the white Mulldoon Zed Zedman, it sure looks tough!!

 

It makes a lap time based class like we run down here look pretty good. If you want to spend the bucks you can, if not you can use your noggin and build something quick.

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On the subject of good classes to suit the Zed, If they ever crank up a Nd class (ie one 'newer' than Nc) we will be laughing, as a 260Z ran at Sandown and Bathurst in 1975, entered by John Roxburgh motors and driven by that old Datsun Champ Doug Whiteford and Geoff Perry. The car DNF and was well off the 'under 3 Litre' class front runners pace, but still, one ran. It also means theres a Group C log booked 260Z out there somewhere!! I've only seen a rear on shot of the car so it could be a 2+2, someone out there might know some answers??? Dont get to excited, I'd think the thought of a Nd class would fire up a lot of the Group C owners, and would take a lot to get through, as the current classes work very well and are also very popular, but its an interesting thought anyway. I would love to see any photos if anybody has some?

 

The Datsun works team entered a 240K for the 1975 Bathurst and it failed to qualify....to slow!

 

 

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According to Wikipedia, it was a 2+2 and it overheated and that resulted in the DNF. I'm trying to find some decent pics. Have found some pics of zeds that ran in Le Mans and that's about it!

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Group T is no good to us unless you have a Production Sports Car logged Z that raced before December 31 1981.

 

I have just been through the exercise to get my car recognised as a Group T car and to no avail. The car was built in 91, so 10 years to late and CAMS ruled out the option of being a compettition version of the car.

 

So only group Sc if you are going to run a Z in Historics, a real shame as I would have enjoyed running at Historic meetings with a good mixture of cars and drivers who respect each others investments.

 

Mine is too far gone with the modifications to the body to bring it back to Sc specs, so will be keeping it as is to run in hillclimbs and the odd FOSC circuit race plus the odd AASA meeting up here in Brisbane.

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C3 Tarmac rallying??? your alowed your flairs as well. I can't think of the club, but those guys who organise the Easter Bathurst sports car thingy, there events look like fun, regularities, no trophies, plenty of laps, just racing!!

 

So where's this Group C logbooked 2+2 hiding?? a Sc spec engine would be legal.....

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FOSC, or festival of sporting cars is the group you're thinking of.

 

Still no good for most of us as they run to CAMS rules, hence my car is eligible for group 2B marque sports, but Ash's RB powered car would have to run as a 2A car. However they do mix and match categories, ie you will be running a mixed field of touring and sports cars based on times as well as with your own category.

 

Also the fields are dependent on numbers. For example Improved Production generally run on there own as do the modern Proddy Sports cars and MX5's

 

I wouldn't mind running their meetings but have nowhere to keep the car in Sydney now and it is too expensive and too much time to tow it down from Brisbane for four meetings a year.

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It sounds like your all pretty keen to run open meetings still. If it was me I'd make some phone calls or start talking to some other like minded people and try and start a 'Historic Marques sports group'. Establish some basic rules eg group 2a and try and get 10 (say) keen guys to approch the event promoter and or club and try to race a class with-in a class ie your new 'historic' class in with the moderns. Then if numbers are good, work your way up to a stand alone class.Take a leaf out of the Group C boy's book, the historic Sports Sedan or the HQ's etc etc etc. I know this might sound like a simplistic, pie in the sky thing and I know nothing about the class or the numbers involved, but I could think of nothing worse than having a car in the shed and not being able to race it, and I'm sure there is any number of Porsche, Lotus etc owners out there with the same thoughts? and trust me event directors like nothing more than full grids!! As a member of the Tas Cams State council I know these sort of proposals are looked at seriously, mind you things seem a lot simplier down here, and our directors are keen to try out different ideas to keep numbers up.

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Been there done that a few years ago within Production Sports in NSw to set up an 80's series for the cars that were built before the money got really involved, but unfortunately not enough interest to get it to fly.

 

Ten cars won't cut it with promoters in NSW or Qld you would need a minimum of 15 to make it work, and that is 15 commited to run at every meeting, not 15 in total with people having the occaisonal run, and then we will still be blown away by the modern guys and you have worry about not only your race, but the other cars coming through as well to lap you.

 

For NSW FOSC meetings are the way to go, but for me too expensive to tow the car down from Brisbane four times a year. I'm looking at a coupleof options up here in Qld, the Queensland Raceway Top Gear series and QRDC run under trhe AASA umbrella. They seem pretty laid back and just out for fun, not racing for sheep stations. Not sure what cars I would be up against, but hopefully would be abel to race someone with similar times.

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Sounds like you have a plan! ten was just a number I pulled from my rear. Numbers are always the problem with this sort of thing and getting people to commit. Good luck with it and hopefully we will see some results up soon?

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  • 5 years later...
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On the subject of good classes to suit the Zed, If they ever crank up a Nd class (ie one 'newer' than Nc) we will be laughing, as a 260Z ran at Sandown and Bathurst in 1975, entered by John Roxburgh motors and driven by that old Datsun Champ Doug Whiteford and Geoff Perry. The car DNF and was well off the 'under 3 Litre' class front runners pace, but still, one ran. It also means theres a Group C log booked 260Z out there somewhere!! I've only seen a rear on shot of the car so it could be a 2+2, someone out there might know some answers??? Dont get to excited, I'd think the thought of a Nd class would fire up a lot of the Group C owners, and would take a lot to get through, as the current classes work very well and are also very popular, but its an interesting thought anyway. I would love to see any photos if anybody has some?

 

The Datsun works team entered a 240K for the 1975 Bathurst and it failed to qualify....to slow!

 

 

 

Pretty sure it's this car right? It is a 2+2.

http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,14500.msg153923.html#msg153923

index.php?action=dlattach;topic=14500.0;attach=41594;image

 

A friend of mine had some Bathurst Highlights video tapes we watched a while back, it showed the Prince Skyline racing at Bathurst, along with the 240k and 260z 2+2.

 

I might try to get him to convert that footage to digital and stick it on Youtube. He is a cameraman by trade and loves to do that sort of thing.

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Yes, that one.

If you could find that very car, and it's original logbook, it would qualify as a Group C Touring car, but it must be THE car, not a replica.

It would have long ago, been put back as a road going car, and sold off as a second hand car, no longer to be found, as was the case with the majority of old prod stock racers.

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